Subsidiary crops damaged tea plantation

By P. Rajaratnam in Nuwara Eliya

The Warwick and Hakgalla Estates in the Uva Region which were managed earlier by the Janatha Estates Development Board are now managed by the Malwatte Velly Plantation Plc.

According to the Co-ordinating Officer of Muthu Sivalingam R.S. Kanaptheyraj the workers have plunged to great hardship together with their family members. A large number of high yielding tea areas have been abandoned including the two factories in Hakgalla and Warwick Estates due to the mismanagement and lack of supervision. Many outsiders were gainfully encroached the estate lands by constructing unauthorised structure and thereby inconveniencing the permanent resident workforce who were regular in employment.

Kanaptheyraj further states the authority of Malwatte Valley Plantation has warned the estate residents to stop their cultivation and hand over the land back to the Estates.